Darren Tripp and Scott Cole made their way through the list of expectations.
By Terry Karkos
Staff Writer

BETHEL – To get reinstated as the town’s police chief in April following a month-long paid suspension, Darren M. Tripp had to agree to follow 47 new rules.

That’s one reason why he filed suit last month in U.S. District Court in Portland against the town manager who implemented those items, and the town.

According to Tripp’s 31-page tort, which became public when his attorney, Thomas S. Carey of Rumford, filed it on Dec. 3 in federal court, Town Manager Scott Cole suspended him on March 17, citing job performance deficiencies.

At that time, Cole wrote in his previously unreleased notice of suspension that he was contemplating removing the chief from office.

“Because of the nature, magnitude and pattern of these deficiencies, I am losing confidence in your ability to be the leader of our police department,” Cole stated.

With help from an attorney other than Carey, Tripp and Cole negotiated their way through the town manager’s list of new performance expectations, to which Tripp must abide.

In his lawsuit documents, Tripp said those expectations and policies “were, by their breadth and design, punitive, demeaning and capricious.”

Some of the 24 actions Cole required Tripp to “strictly adhere to” were, to:

• Provide the town manager with a spreadsheet-based report containing a complete list of all police department cases which are pre-charge and under investigation.

• Provide the town manager with a spreadsheet-based report containing a complete list of all police department cases pending before the courts.

• Return all town-owned blue lights, sirens, town radios, and other equipment from private vehicles, to storage in the town office.

• Immediately refrain from making jokes, suggestions, threats or actions of harassment, retribution, or revenge by Tripp or subordinates against any civilian or police officer of any agency.

• Immediately refrain from making jokes and comments to or in the vicinity of members of the public or other public safety workers, “which a reasonable person would perceive as off-color or offensive.

In the same vein, public demonstration of a demeanor which a reasonable person would describe as aggressive, violent, boasting, bragging or otherwise inappropriate for a police officer are prohibited.

• Handle all requests for police information and media access to police information in accordance with the most recently established guidelines of the Maine Chiefs of Police Association.

• Immediately refrain from disclosing verbal comments or written information to media personnel beyond prepared police reports.

• Immediately refrain from providing “editorial dramatization or flair” in police reports and other written information intended for media review.

Some of the 23 new policies Tripp had to agree to follow:

• Limit civilians who are not conducting police business to 15 minutes in the police station.

• Limit to 15 minutes in the station all off-duty Bethel police officers, and any other police officers who are off duty or not in uniform.

• Officers shall be neatly attired, consistent with the image of a professional police officer.

• All police officers must annually meet physical fitness standards as established by the Maine Criminal Justice Academy.

• Police officers’ video and audio recording of conversations occurring outside of a traffic stop without the knowledge and consent of all parties involved is prohibited without a court-issued warrant.

• As weather and calls permit, all officers shall include a walk of areas of the village, not to exceed a distance of seven minutes from their parked police cruiser during their assigned shift.

tkarkos@sunjournal.com

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